The Devil in the New World: The Impact of Diabolism in New Spain By Fernando Cervantes (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 471 Casas to Mexico and his participation in discussions regarding the problems of relationships between the Spaniards and the Indians during those years. The presentation is episodic and at times the sequence is hard to follow. But it gives new insights into the friar-bishop's work, in spite of the fact that Dr. Parish never finds any cause to criticize the work of Las Casas. Part Two (pp. 121-247), "Una Obra Desconocida" (An Unknown Work), is a co-operative editorial work of the two authors in which they present a previously unknown Latin writing of Las Casas, which they have entitled "De exemptione, sive damnatione" (On Exemption or Damnation). The original is preserved in manuscript form, written in Las Casas' hand, in the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris in the tome Mss espagnols 325. It is a work that the editors judge that Las Casas wrote in Mexico in 1546 and gave to his friend the Augustinian scholar Alonso de la Vera Cruz, who added some annotations to it. It is a Scholastic disquisition on the question of whether the clergy are exempt from the coercive jurisdiction of the princes and secular judges, to which Las Casas answers in the affirmative. It is published here in the original Latin, with Spanish translation and extensive annotations. The final and longest section (pp. 249—391) is made up of thirty documentary appendices that have been gathered from a large number of archives, libraries, and published sources. It is a treasure trove for anyone looking for documents related to questions of Spanish treatment of the Indians during this period. There are two documents related to enslavement of Indians, the first an opinion of Bishop Juan de Zumárraga of Mexico, the second from Archbishop Gaspar de Avalos of Granada. There follow a series of documents related to the issuance of the papal documents of 1537-38 supporting the freedom of the Indians, including the texts ofthe papal documents themselves (app. 3-15); various items on the controversy over mass baptisms of Indians (app. 16-19); documents related to the meeting of the bishops in 1546, most notably several letters of the inspector general Francisco Tello de Sandoval (app. 20—26); and finally various writings of Las Casas himself related to his final stay in Mexico in 1546 (app. 27-30). The documents are extensively annotated. This is a valuable addition to the Lascasian literature and will be of use to all those who are interested in the relationship between Spaniards and Indians or between Church and State in sixteenth-century Mexico. J. Benedict Warren Colegio de Michoacán Zamora, Michoacán, México The Devil in the New World: The Impact of Diabolism in New Spain. By Fernando Cervantes. (New Haven: Yale University Press. 1994. Pp. x, 182.«22.50.) With some success, this book views diabolism in Spanish Colonial Mexico from the early 1500's to 1767 within the context of European philosophical 472 BOOK REVIEWS and theological currents. Three chapters draw heavily on two of the author's previously published articles. The narrative approach to intellectual history is a refreshing change from the present emphasis on socioeconomic statistical studies and merits praise for Fernando Cervantes, who was educated in Mexico and Great Britain and is now a lecturer at the University of Bristol. He is neither nostalgic about the loss of Mesoamerican religions nor overly patronizing toward poorly educated friars. At least twice, Cervantes notes that well educated ecclesiastics opposed superstition. He enhances our knowledge of folk Catholicism with information on Indians who appropriated and reinterpreted Christian elements, including the devil as well as saints. An analysis of the importance the Christian liturgy held for Indian communities is a major contribution. The author's distance from Mexican sources perhaps explains his decision to incorporate a sweeping survey of thinkers ranging from Origen to Voltaire. Time spent in Mexican archives, nevertheless, yielded significant findings, primarily on Inquisition cases concerning demonism. Cervantes detects a shift in the tribunal's attitude toward such questions and presents inferences, instead of evidence, to explain the change. He furnishes no data on the Inquisitors ' educational background and professional experience. Richard D. Greenleaf, Zum...